Estre, Aitken React to “Over the Line” Race-Ending Crash

Photo: Porsche

Kevin Estre and Jack Aitken have shared views of their race-ending crash in Sunday’s Motul SportsCar Endurance Grand Prix at Road America.

The Porsche Penske Motorsport and Action Express Racing drivers came to blows in the closing moments of the six-hour IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup round, with contact entering Turn 1 on the race’s final restart with 11 minutes to go resulting in both Estre’s No. 6 Porsche 963 and the No. 31 Cadillac V-Series.R of Aitken ending their races in the Turn 1 barriers.

The incident, which came with 11 minutes to go on a restart, resulted in the race ending under full-course caution.

It came after both drivers had been making aggressive moves with each other while battling for second position, which gave clear sailing for Filipe Albuquerque to take victory in the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac.

Estre and Aitken, meanwhile, were classified in eighth and ninth place in the GTP class, respectively.

However, the race results remain unofficial pending a “comprehensive review” of the Turn 1 incident involving the two cars according to a statement released by IMSA.

“A DNF for us in the last ten minutes of the race,” Estre said on social media. “We were fighting for a podium.

“But on the restart, the 31 tried to do a move on the left side on the outside in Turn 1.

“He just had his nose here. I could have left a little more room. He could have backed off as well. I don’t think there’s 100 percent fault to give to anyone.

“But for sure there’s should-have, could-have, give a little room to the left.

“We had contact as soon as we hit the brakes and then we were both passengers and ended up in the barriers and that’s it.

“It’s sad because we did a great race until there.

“One thing is for sure is that we have to drive like maniacs to be in that position at the moment. That’s the way it is.”

Aitken, who saw his points lead provisionally reduced to 128 points with the DNF, commented: “I think it’s a real shame because despite maybe not being quite where we wanted to be in terms of pace, the guys ran a really fantastic race and we managed to put ourselves in the fight for a win and a podium.

“And I just think that the driving by some of the others around us was over the line.

“Like I said, it’s a shame because a lot of effort goes into these days and we could have had another good result to go on the back of a really strong year, but we’ll pick up the pieces, move on and crack on with the last two races.”

The dramatic crash ultimately handed second place in the race to Aitken’s title rival, Laurin Heinrich, in the No. 5 JDC-Miller Motorsports Porsche following a post-race time penalty equivalent to a drive-through to the Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie for incident responsibility with the No. 93 Acura Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06.

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John